Autumne Franklin neared a pair of school records at the Pepsi Florida Relays (Ivy League Athletics).
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Harvard track and field team split its squad to take part in the Pepsi Florida Relays and the Sam Howell Invitational this weekend, with a number of performances finding a home in the Harvard record books. The women's 4x400 and sprint medley relay teams and the men's sprint medley highlighted the meet in Florida, setting new school marks in each event.
An underclassmen-heavy quartet made history at the Florida relays, with Autumn Franklin, Christi Scott, Olivia Abbate and Gabrielle Scott combining for a final time of 3:40.24, more than a second faster than the school record set last year at the ECAC Championships. Christi Scott highlighted the race with a split of 54.9.The two Scott's joined freshmen Madison Hansen and Paige Kouba to take part in the sprint medley relay, and the squad shattered the school record by more than two seconds, finishing in 3:57.86.
Ashley Collinsworth led the Harvard contingent in the 100, running a time of 12.07, good for eighth in program history, while Danielle Barbian's mark of 12.11 is right behind in ninth. Gabrielle Scott ran well in the 400 at 55.65, and Molly renfer blazed to a time of 2:09.40 in the 800, setting a new personal best on the day. Franklin continued to rewrite the record books, powering to a personal-best time of 13.78 in the 100 hurdles. Franklin's time ranks second all-time in team annals and she becomes just the second Harvard women to eclipse the 14-second mark in the event. Franklin was at it again in the 400 hurdles, running well in a talented field to post a personal best of 59.06, also good for second in the Harvard record book. Veteran Mary Hirst took a lead from the freshmen in Florida and matched her personal best height in the high jump, finishing fourth in the event with a clearance of 1.76m (5' 9.25").
Connor McCarthy fronted a strong men's showing in the Sunshine State, running the third-fastest time in program history in the 100, crossing the line in 10.52. The time is the fastest by a Harvard runner in nearly a decade. Jarvis Harris improved on his personal best time and just missed setting the school record in the 110 hurdles, finishing in 14.27, just .03 seconds off the all-time mark. The men's sprint medley relay team also turned in a strong fifth-place result, with Jeff Homer, Connor Reck, McCarthy and Harris crossing the line in 3:24.49. McCarthy led off the race with a split of 21.2 in the 200, and Homer followed with a 48.6 in the 400.
Harvard's distance runners were on display at the Sam Howell meet. Sammy Silva ran a personal best in a sixth-place finish in the 800, posting a mark of 2:12.18, the 11th-fastest time in team history. Will Geiken impressed in the men's 10,000, running a time of 30:30.19 which is the 12th-best in team annals. Tom Purnell also ran the 12th-fastest time in the 5,000, finishing in 14:22.17, good for sixth in the race. Morgan Kelly ran to a fourth-place finish in the women's 5,000, posting the seventh-fastest time in team history at 16:41.42. Viviana Hanley was close behind at 16:54.18, good for eighth in team annals.
Igor Liokumovich led the Harvard men in both the shot put and the discus, placing second and fourth, respectively. Liokumovich launched a toss of 16.65 (54' 7.5") in the shot, and posted a mark of 50.42 (165' 5") in the discus, which was just short of a personal best.
It is an exciting week for the track and field team, as the annual Harvard-Yale meet will take place in New Haven April 13, followed by the historic Harvard/Yale vs. Oxford/Cambridge meet April 16 at McCurdy Outdoor Track.
